Hernia appliance



Aug. 22, 1939. F. o. HANSON 2,170,558

HERNIA APPLIANCE Filed NOV. 11, 1936 Even/i501 FRANK o. HANSON Z fliiorng Patented Aug. 22, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HERNIA APPLIANCE Application November 11, 1936, Serial No. 110,351

5 Claims.

One of the principal objects of my invention has been to provide a hernia appliance which shall be made entirely of relatively soft, flexible material, with no metal or other rigid or semirigid parts in the structure.

Another object is to simplify such appliance and thus provide a two-part device, one part of which comprises a soft, flexible, continuous, body member and the other a flexible, non-resilient, attaching member which is secured to such body member.

Another object has been to provide an appliance which may be initially adjusted to the wearer in a convenient manner and one which will maintain such adjustment while being worn.

Furthermore, my appliance, while being de signed to produce the desired amount of pressure over the affected part, is so soft and yieldable that it may be worn both day and night without irritating or chafing any part of the body to which it is applied, thus giving the utmost comfort.

Moreover, my device may be applied to either groin of the body and it is of such nature that one may be worn on each groin if necessary.

Furthermore, my device is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and one which may be easily and frequently cleaned by washing without losing or minimizing any of the advantages above set forth.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device shown in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my invention, showing it applied to the weakened part of the body.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a View of my invention before being 7 applied to the wearer.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2. showing two of my devices applied to the body.

My appliance comprises a continuous body member 5 and an attaching member 6. The body member is preferably made of yarn or other similar soft, resilient material. It may be formed by continuously winding yarn or other material so as to form the double loop arrangement of Fig. 3. Each side i of the member is thus formed from a number of strands which are preferably bound together at points 8 so as to keep them in place. As shown in Fig. 3, the member is thus provided with two loops, one at each end. As shown, a slip loop 9 is provided at one end of the member and a tension adjusting portion having an attaching loop I I at the opposite end thereof. To

the attaching loop of the tension adjusting portion Hi there is fastened one end of the attaching member 6. This attaching member is made of any suitable material which is flexible but preferably not resilient. It may be made of cord or other woven material such as, for instance, tape or the like.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that when my invention is applied to the body, the continuous body member is placed about the waist of the wearer and the tension adjusting portion l0, together with the attaching member 6, is passed through the slip loop 9. The end of the body member bearing the tension adjusting portion [0 is pulled through the slip loop until the slip loop occupies a position over the aifected area thus providing, with the portions of the body member which are engaged by the slip loop, a soft, pressure cushion over such area. After the body member has thus been initially adjusted to the wearer, the end bearing the tension adjusting portion and the attaching member is passed between the legs of the wearer and the attaching member is brought up over the rear of the body and engaged with that portion of the body'member which is around the Waist of the wearer at the side thereof, and preferably at the. point [2 where the back waist portion of the body member joins the downwardly extending end of the same. Sufficient tension is then applied to the device to maintain it in proper position and to produce the desired pressure over the affected area. The attaching member is then securely tied to the body member at this point in such manner that it can be easily detached when desired. When bringing the attaching member up to and fastening it to the body member at the waistline, the desired tension is placed upon the body member for maintaining it in position and also to give to the body the desired pressure upon the affected part. If necessary, further adjustment of the slip loop may be conveniently made over the affected area without readjusting the tension.

From the above it will be clear that there her one final adjustment on my device and this adjustment will maintain the entire device under proper tension so as to bring about the desired pressure.

When there are two affected body parts, my device is of such nature that two of such devices me, be simultaneously worn, as clearly shown in I 4. Because of the soft, resilient nature of t body member, both appliances may be W01 out the least bit of discomfort each ac dependent of the other to maintain the proper pressure upon the area to which it is applied.

The body member 9 forming the cushion of my device is preferably made of such size that when applied to the body for which it is designed, the tension adjusting portion of the member extends between the legs and for some distance up the rear of the body toward the waistline.

While I have shown and described a double loop body member in continuous form and each group of strands at each side fastened together at a number of places, it is obvious that the strands at both sides might be tied together in one bundle. Furthermore, instead of having a loop at the end of the tension adjusting portion, the body member might be made up of a number of strands doubled upon themselves forming the slip loop at one end and having their free ends brought together at the opposite end of the body member. These strands might then be secured together in any suitable manner to the attachingmember, and substantially the same results obtained.

Obviously, these and other modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A hernia appliance, comprising a support composed of a resilient body member, said body member being formed of a plurality of strands of soft material adapted to encircle the body, a slip loop at one end of the body member, a tension adjusting portion at the opposite end of said member, said slip loop being adapted to have said tension adjusting portion passed therethrough and to form, with the portions of the body part which are engaged by theslip loop, a pressure cushion, and a flexible, non-resilient attaching member secured at one end to the tension adjusting portion of the body member and at the other end to the body encircling portion of the body member.

2. A hernia appliance, comprising a support composed of an endless, resilient body member, said body member being formed of a plurality of strands of soft material arranged so as to have two coextensive sides adapted to encircle the body, a slip loop at one end of the body member, a tension adjusting portion at the opposite end of said member, said slip loop being adapted to have said tension adjusting portion passed therethrough and to form, with the portions of the body part which are engaged by the slip loop, a pressure cushion, and a flexible, nonresilient attaching member secured at one end tothe tension adjusting portion of the body member and at the other end to the body encircling portion of the body member.

3. A hernia appliance, comprising a support composed of a resilient body member, said body member being formed of a plurality of strands of soft material adapted to encircle the body, a slip loop at one end of the body member, an attaching loop at the opposite end of said member, said slip loop being adapted to have said attaching loop passed therethrough and to form, with the portions of the body member which are engaged by the slip loop, a pressure cushion, and

a flexible, non-resilient attaching member se- L cured at one end to the attaching loop of the body member and at the other end to the body encircling portion of the body member.

4. A hernia appliance, comprising a support composed of an endless, resilient body member, said body member being formed of a plurality of strands of soft material arranged so as to have two coextensive sides adapted to encircle the body, a slip loop at one end of the body member, an attaching loop at the opposite end of said member, said slip loop being adapted to have said attaching loop passed therethrough and to form, with the portions of the body member which are engaged by the slip loop, a pressure cushion, and a flexible, non-resilient attaching member secured at one end to the attaching loop of the body member and at the other end to the body encircling portion of the body member.

5. A hernia appliance, comprising a support composed of a resilient body member, said body member being formed of a plurality of strands of soft material adapted to encircle the body, a slip loop at one end of the body member, a tension adjusting portion at the opposite end of said member, said slip loop being adapted to have said tension adjusting portion passed therethrough and to form, with the portions of the body part which are engaged by the slip loop, a pressure cushion, means for securing the strands together at a plurality of places, and a flexible, non-resilient attaching member, secured at one end to the tension adjusting portion of the body member and at the other end to the body encircling portion of the body member.

FRANK O. HANSON. 

